a'muse'd

forgive the title, i really couldnt think of anything better and it really does fit because last monday aaron and i went to see muse in concert.

aaron got off work a little early, we drove through JCW's for burgers and headed to the e center in salt lake. both of us had been anticipating the concert since we heard they were coming, but didnt commit to buying tickets until a few days before so we were very, very elated about our purchase. aaron had seen muse live a few times by himself and i had seen them once on a date with another guy so it was time for us to share the life changing experience {if you have ever seen them live you will know what i mean} together.

it was a really great night. the show was fabulous {duh} and the company was fabulous {double duh}, but all in all i just re-realized how fabulous it is to be married to my very own rock star.



above is one of my all time favorites and classics from muse. i dont know why i allow myself to forget how good they are, but they are all that has been motivating me at the gym recently. so very good.

i feel like -

i just need a big bonk over the head. like one of those in the cartoons where after a big whack the words "pow" pop up and then little birds start flying around in a circle. ya, i need one of those. and not because i have a headache or because i need a headache, but because i just feel stuck in an attitude rut of sorts.

i lost touch

with this blogging world. and i dont even feel bad about it. it is a good thing when "real life" things catch up with you and you forget to open up your laptop and just word vomit all over the world wide web.

on top of it all i have writers block. all i can think about right now is how crabby i am {ever have those days?}. even listening to the smiths isn't inspiring any witty, thoughtful or clever banter, so i will just curtsy and say 'adieu'. {oh, and post a current picture taken by the ever fabulous Meredith Carlson. man that woman is talented}

looking forward.

staying at home and making my own schedule has made "hump day" aka wednesday, sort of irrelevant. however today has really made me look forward to the following things:

• spin class tonite and another tough workout with lindsay
• dessert with my cousin and her family this evening, who are visiting from out of town
• meeting my new personal trainer on the morrow and figuring out why i have gained six pounds since this whole fiasco began
• sunday. the only day that i have the husband to myself, sort of

what are YOU looking forward to?

monday moment.

for the sake of time i just want to make it very clear that i am so proud of my husband. i think that i could scour the face of this earth on a search for the hardest working man, only to find myself right back in my own bedroom; or possibly the orem windermere real estate office.

you can probably tell from the above picture, but he is kinda a big deal. man i love him.

apology.

i think i need to apologize for rambling on for the past little while in my posts. everyone knows that no one actually likes reading these things.

so, for your viewing pleasure, here are some images from the valentines day shoot that mere took for aaron and i!

on to . . .

phase three: inherit children

this may seem like a weird phase title, but it fully encompasses what has been filling my time recently. right after i quit i was lined up to watch my nieces and nephew for a week, and although it was tough going from zero kids to four in one week, i really had the time of my life.

the youngest is three and she was home with me all day while the older three were in school. we had many talks through the day about why she prefers the peels cut off of her apple slices and had a few melt downs due to her refusal to take a nap during the day. below are a few of the conversations we had with her that aaron and i still laugh about today:

- i was sitting at the kitchen table with her eating lunch together and i poured the contents of a diet coke into a glass filled with ice. after taking one sip and setting it down, she looked up at me like she longed for a sip of my drink, but then quickly remembered and shared that, "that drink is diarrhea for my bum" and then nodded her head in a matter of fact way.

you and about a million other people honey.

- aaron and i had to run an errand and so we left the older kids at home for a bit and took the youngest with us. in the car on the way she started talking like a robot saying things like, "dont laugh! i am a robit!" so aaron decided to play along with her and talked to her like a robot and everything that he said she mimicked. they were going back and forth for a while, aaron saying one thing and the youngest mimicking back, but then aaron got a genuis idea; her parents have been trying to potty train her and so while we were there we really tried to encourage the big girl attitude and get her to go in the potty. with that said aaron tried tricking her into saying what he said by saying in a robot voice "i am a big girl and i go in the potty!". without skipping a beat she called back to us, "i am a baby and i go in my diaper!"

it was worth a try right?

- she and i were sitting on the stairs watching the other kids run around the house and she just started making up stories to tell me. her: "there was a boy named Jesus Christ who died."
me: "thats right. do you know why?"
her: "because he got in a car wreck and then he had to get a wrap on his leg, so then he was ok."
me "oh really?!"
her: "ya, but his father was very sad."
me: "what is his fathers' name?"
her: "Heavenly Father. and he was very sad. and so was his sister."
me: "he has a sister? what is her name?"
her: "dora. and she got in the wreck too, but she was ok. she didnt need a wrap."
me: "well thats good, im glad that she is ok."
her: "ya, but Jesus Christ had to get a wrap, but he is going to be ok." *smiles and runs away.

at least she understands that Heavenly Father is Jesus Christ's father :)

i wish so badly that i could find a picture the above mentioned kids - they are so darling.

oh and then i got to watch this little munchin for a couple days.
i know your jealous. so many cute kids.

moving on with life.

first of all, thank you for all your suggestions and advice from the previous post. i have been taking one step at a time and trying to soak up the wonderful moments that i have with friends, family and myself.

which brings us to . . . phase two: make myself a priority.

we all watch 'the biggest loser', yes? well throughout the seasons the most popular reason that the women blame on their weight gain is 'losing themselves'. i know that there are hundreds of thousands of mothers out there who can relate to that statement and although i have no children to blame, i can say that i have lost sight of myself and most importantly my health.

alas, that is no more!

the day after my last day at work aaron surprised me with an adventure and we headed out on the quest to find bicycles. both of us were really excited about the whole situation; finding a new way to travel that saved the enviroment and promoted our well-being. however, after looking through all the bike shops in utah county our discussion about our quest turned more into a challenge for the both of us to get healthy.

long story short; we have gym passes and i have a personal trainer. my first day with the trainer he asks me to warm up on the treadmill for 10 minutes. ok so, by minute five i was ready to quit. my heart was beating so fast and hard that i was sure that the dude running next to me could hear it, but it also could have been the heavy panting that made him look over at me quite a few times. overall those 10 minutes were an embarassment, but not as bad as what ensued. after i hopped of the treadmill i forgot about that feeling you get when you are walking on solid ground, you know that feeling like you are moving at lightening speed? well i walked with my lightening speed legs over to the weight section of the gym to meet my trainer who gave me two exercises. emphasis on the 'two'. mind you, before i even started these exercises my nose was running profusely and my heart was still beating out of my chest. so i do some sort of whimpy push up thing for 30 counts and then an ab exercise for about 15 counts and i stand up to catch my breath . . . aaaaand then abrubtly sit down. no lie, i thought that i was going to pass out, my vision didnt go completely black, but it was pretty dang spotty. on top of it all my nose would not stop running and so to make up for it i just tried snorting it back up so that i could continue with my workout. i was a vision impaired, snotty, exhasted, hot mess. i tried to play it off but the trainer knew better; he took me back over to his desk, handed me a box of tissues and concluded that i was a skinny-fat kid. lesson learned.


since that awful first day, things have gotten a million times better. i feel so good. i love the confidence that i gain as i push myself further and further. i love the challenge each morning of getting up and pushing myself to the gym and then the worn out feeling after i have completed the spin class. i love the energy that i have gained and the strength that i am continuing to build on.

here's to the fat kid in all of us!

in the meantime.

oh golly its been awhile. like a real, long while.

the past month or so has been madness and instead of rattling off in one long post - i am going to break it up into phases. lucky for you huh?

phase one: employment finale

im done.

after giving my two weeks notice and then sitting out another four weeks it was long overdue, but i mustered up the strength to send my boss a letter regarding me officially leaving. (by 'letter' i mean email and by 'strength' i mean waiting until the very last minute of the monday workday and pressing send before practically running out of the office. baby steps.) my email clearly stated that i would work the remainder of the current week and then i was outie.

february 19th was my last day. although that day was bitter-sweet for me, i had no idea what an incredible adjustment it would be for me to go from days packed with never-ending task lists and appointments to days where my tasks where limited to the chores in our little home. it actually been really tough on me - emotionally and physically. in some ways i feel like i just need more things to help pass the time, but mostly i just want to know that i am contributing to our family and that i am putting in my fair share of work.

each phase from here on out will explain what i have done to reconcile this issue, but what i really want to know is have you ever felt this way? what did you do when you came to a cross roads in your life?

feeling a little artsy.

the mr and myself have been feeling artsy and inspired as of recent. so much so that we have finally taken up the things that we really love again and have started creating our own pieces for our walls.

aaron had a class assignment due this week to create a painting. voila. {i really wish that the below picture did this painting half the justice that it deserves}


* i dont mean to brag, but i cant really help myself.

get groovin.

tired of pandora? let me open those tired eyes and ask you to try grooveshark.com.

you can create your own playlists, save your favorites, replay a song however many times your heart pleases, listen to talk radio, follow music blogs, look at all of the albums of the bands you already love and research bands that you just started to love.

im groovin.

one thing is for sure.

my heart has found a band that makes it pitter-patter.

dear 'the temper trap',

thank you for your perfect blend of eighties ballads and indie melodies. not sure why i didnt find you sooner, but my life has changed for the better.

my adoration,
kayti


if you dont regularly check out the HEAR YE section of this blog, it might be in your best interest ----------------------->.

in honor

of the upcoming week of love, here are a few things that bring a smile to my face.

{from left clockwise} babies and their chub. french fries in all their greasy goodness. the bachelor and all the drama that follows. nail polish is fun colors for spring. the beach, the sunshine and the love of my life.

monday moment.

i am lucky.

lucky to have good health (minus this dang cold, of course), endless support, warm home, healthy food, soft bed, great love, positive finances and a fabulous family to wake up to each morning. lucky to have a car with ac for the summer and a house with warm water for the winter.

i am lucky to remember everyday that no matter how bad i think my circumstances are that things could always be worse.

i watched 'extreme makeover: home edition' last night and got an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for our little basement apartment {gasp!}. i know that i always complain about it but i could not be more happy with where we are at. we don't have a dishwasher, but we have good enough health to stand and laugh and chat whilst we scrub our dirty dishes. we might not have very much space, but that just makes for more intimate moments with those that we love. our bathroom might be old, but we are free of mold and mildew and our drawers might get stuck every time we pull them open, but we have many happy memories and useful supplies to fill them up with. our oven might be half the size of a normal oven, but we have plenty of pots to cook in and plenty of food to cook with.

what makes you lucky?

see ya latro.

do you have one dish that you tend to crave one particular thing a few times during the week? well i do. and i am not pregnant, that is just the way i am. one of the things that i crave are the southwestern egg rolls on chili's app menu. black beans, corn, cilantro and hot spices all deep fried? yes please.

well i made them last night for aaron and i and we may or may not have just eaten them standing in the kitchen because i couldnt wait any longer for more to deep fry.

on that note, i hope that you all have a fantastic weekend - full of things that you crave :)

* if you crave the same things that i do then you should try this recipe that lea, so kindly, sent over to me.

1 can Corn (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
1/2 bunch cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
1 1/2 cup of chopped spinach
1 tsp minced garlic
2 medium sized chicken breast...cooked, finely chopped
1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded cheese, mexican mix
2 T olive oil

Cumin about 1 tsp
Chili powder about 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Cracked red pepper or cayenne pepper to desired spiciness

1 packet of 20 egg roll wraps.

Mix it all together, put about a big spoonful inside the wrap. (It takes a few times to judge the size of the egg roll and you will think you have too much and think you need to make them bigger)...don't. Roll it up tight. Seal edge with a little water.
Deep fry in oil.

its a good thing

that i rented two movies for one night because i had this movie left over for my sick day yesterday.

recoop.

tonight was a good night - a perfect combination of my delish menu eaten on the floor by myself accompanied with chilled pallegrino right out of the bottle and the viewing of 'new york, i love you'. if you havent seen it yet, you must change that, trust me.

see, perfect clips on love and new york and phoenix to top it all off, i told you it is amazing.

happy hump day.

today has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day - please tell me you remember this book from your childhood too.

in turn i am highly anticipating grabbing a red box on the way home and cooking up a storm. whats on the menu? homemade sweet corn tamale cakes from cheesecake factory and tortilla soup from california pizza kitchen.

i hope that your wednesday evening is as delightful as i think mine just might be.

monday moment.

its officially the month of love.

our first valentines day together as a married couple aaron was sick as a dog and we spent the night sleeping off his cold. at the time, i was upset with this sequence of events and even after him trekking out in the cold of winter with a clogged nose and congested head to get me beautiful flowers and a take out dinner, i was bummed. i want to publicly apologize to my husband for such junvenille behavior.

this year i will not let such childish attitudes get in my way.

this year i will be content even if i need to spoon feed the mr. soup all night because at least i have someone to spoon feed. this year i want to focus on the miracle that i have someone to love and that i have someone who loves me - unconditionally. cheers to love!

we decided

to go off of desserts - again.

this time i really want to stick to my guns and eliminate candy, desserts and soda from my diet, but then i found these.

dag-nab-it sugar, why must you torment me so? welp at least i know what i will be doing for valentines day treats.